Plant only filtration (why not popular in the hobby???)

[Rivermud]

Done and planted. I bought 3 drop lights from home depot and removed the clamps. I also bought 3 daylight led bulbs running at 8.5 watts. I built a simple hanging frame to suspend them and viola, we have a fully functional operation.

Overview:

100 gallon Plywood tank that needed a new purpose (trash cans, barrels, etc. can be used in place of the plywood tank) ($ Varies on choice)
1 stackable racking system set side by side to create an 8 foot long by 3 feet high and 2 feet wide growbed area. $85
2 10 foot 2x12's cut to 8 feet long to form the frame of the grow bed. $12
6 mil visqueen 20'x100' $25 (lots left over)
3 drop lights $25
3 8.5w LED bulbs $25
1 water pump $30
plumbing $10
seeds $10

I planted Roma Tomatoes, Lemon Balm, Scallions, Jalepenos, Grand Bell Peppers, and 2 Philodendron starts. I am sourcing 50 tilapia fingerlings for the stock tank and will have them in next week. Until then I will be doing some fishless cycling to get things rolling with plant growth and the bacterial colony.

 

[ITHURTZ]

vegetable garden!! cant wait! have enough light to grow that?

 

[Rivermud]

vegetable garden!! cant wait! have enough light to grow that?

Hopefully, Its the equivalent to 180 watts with a daylight spectrum.

 

[Rivermud]

I could bump it to 300 watts for another 32 bucks. I'll see how the plants perform for the first few weeks. If it looks lackluster I can always add more light.

 

[Rivermud]

Tomatoes are surviving, lemon balm is already super perked up. 50 new tilapia are now happily swimming in my tank, they are tiny.. 3/4 to an inch at most

 

[bradleyagregg]

Tomatoes are surviving, lemon balm is already super perked up. 50 new tilapia are now happily swimming in my tank, they are tiny.. 3/4 to an inch at most

Are you raising the Tilipia for consumption?

 

[Rivermud]

Are you raising the Tilipia for consumption?

Yep, the whole system is directed and closing part of the food chain for me. I might go with ornamental fish after this first round with tilapia. If i did that i would probably go with africans due to stocking density. I don't really know. Anybody have ideas for a heavilly stockable ornamental fish or group of fish outside africans.

 

[bradleyagregg]

Yep, the whole system is directed and closing part of the food chain for me. I might go with ornamental fish after this first round with tilapia. If i did that i would probably go with africans due to stocking density. I don't really know. Anybody have ideas for a heavilly stockable ornamental fish or group of fish outside africans.

Cool. Can't really help on what to stock next. Do you still use dechlorinator when raising fish for consumption?

 

[Rivermud]

I don't use anything. I might add seaweed now and then for nutrients but I don't really add much water and only do a water change if something gets out of control.

 

[bradleyagregg]

Mine set up is coming together finally. I took a window sill planter, built in a little shelf for poly fill batting. Played around with a few different pumps and some clear hose for the return lines until I got the flow I was looking for. Plumbed everything up and cleaned the lava rock. Going in the tank tomorrow.